Abstract: Promoting the building of innovation-oriented enterprise is a strategic measure for meeting the demands of endogenous economic growth and driving development with innovation. With comparison and analysis of domestic and foreign concepts about innovative/innovating enterprise, the article expounds the meaning of innovation-oriented enterprise under the background of national technological innovation program. It identifies the external and internal characteristics of innovation-oriented enterprise. It also proposes five recommendations for improving capacity of independent innovation, such as the strategy of building innovation-oriented enterprise in “two steps” and institutionalization of innovation-oriented enterprise assessment.